New Energy World™
New Energy World™ embraces the whole energy industry as it connects and converges to address the decarbonisation challenge. It covers progress being made across the industry, from the dynamics under way to reduce emissions in oil and gas, through improvements to the efficiency of energy conversion and use, to cutting-edge initiatives in renewable and low-carbon technologies.
When goodwill isn’t enough: why DEI in energy needs accountability, not just intent
28/1/2026
8 min read
Feature
The Chair of POWERful Women (PfW) – who appears on stage at next month’s International Energy Week – offers her recommendations about how to move the dial on gender inclusivity in boardrooms in the UK and beyond. She spoke with Sara Siddeeq.
There’s a steadiness in the way Monica Collings OBE talks about diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). No slogans. No exaggeration. Just a clear-eyed assessment of where progress has stalled – and why the energy sector can no longer rely on goodwill alone.
‘It’s not a vibe,’ she says. ‘It’s an outcome.’
Collings speaks with the authority of experience. She is Chair of POWERful Women – the Energy Institute-hosted initiative focused on improving gender balance across the UK energy sector – and Non-Executive Director of Adler & Allan and Dalcour Maclaren. She is also a former chief executive who led a domestic energy supplier through one of the most turbulent periods the industry has faced. During the energy crisis, she was the only woman running a UK retail energy company.